Thawing Hearts
by SchmEthan
Summary: Continuation of a story from another author. Fox and Krystal have been shot down above Fichina and are being forced to co-operate to survive. Will hard feelings and painful memories get in the way, or will they welcome each other once more? T for language
1. Disposable

SchmEthan here:  
OK, this is just to let you know that I am merely _continuing _this story where a silenced writer left off. Quite a few of you may recognise this story and its original author, but said author wants this story to remain unaffiliated with him, so please do not mention his name or penname in any reviews or anything like that. BEfore anyone starts bricking me for stealing this, he gave me full permission to continue this, so HA! lol

ANYway, the first five chapters of this are NOT mine, but from 6 onwards, the work becomes my own.

Hope you enjoy this!

SchmEthan.

_Disclaimer: Star Fox and any such Star Fox-y things belong to Nintendo and possibly Rare, Namco and Rick Astley. Except that last part..._

* * *

"THIS IS NO PLACE FOR A DOGFIGHT," Fox yelled through his Arwing II's intercom as he pressed down on the left pedal, tilting the ship onto its side and passing through a narrow gorge. The Wolfen broke away, passing over top of the cliffs, allowing the Arwing to lead it to a more rolling landscape along Fichina's desolate Southern pole.

"It doesn't matter; you're in our territory now," Wolf replied.

The Anglar war had been over for a year, Krystal had joined Star Wolf, and Fox had retreated from public life.

"I came here to talk to Lucy, not to shoot you guys down for a fifth time," Fox smirked remembering each time vividly. The vulpine looked out upon the snow packed terrain. Uninhabited. To go down here would mean certain death, either from starvation, or hypothermia.

A zapper shot flying across the nose cone brought him back to the current situation. He leaned the ship into a banked corner, locking on to the Black Rose that had just attacked him. "Just a few more," Fox said squeezing the trigger on the single control stick. Once the sights went vertical he released the trigger, sending a shield-draining blast straight into the underside of Panther's ship. A few stray shots ripped into the G-diffuser on the Arwing's right wing.

Krystal's voice echoed out from the intercom. "Ha! Take that!" Fox broke away from Panther, doing a U-turn manoeuvre to follow the Cloudrunner that had unloaded on him. It was four on one; Fox continuously switched targets, depending on which one was easier to get at. He finally got close enough to get a shot at Krystal. He followed her for a little bit, but he couldn't bring himself to shoot. He loved her, no matter how she felt about him. To hurt her even more than he already had would surely ruin him. He was barely able to cope with forcing her off the team; it had scarred him deep inside, and although it wasn't the only one, it was definitely the deepest. He had regretted nothing in his life up to that point. Several times he had tried apologizing in attempt to win her back, but either she wouldn't listen, or Panther would force him away.

A drop in his shield gauge brought him out of his train of thought. Leon received five shots in his fuselage for attacking the Arwing. Unlike Star Fox, Star Wolf attacked randomly; it was easy to take a ship out because they were usually separated, each one trying to make it solo.

Fox continued his chase-firing on the Rainbow Delta, until Krystal made an attack run on him. Fox veered left, locking on to the Cloudrunner. The sight went vertical, but he didn't release the trigger. The vulpine pulled back on the control stick and punched his thrusters, flying up and over Krystal, releasing the shot towards the nearest hillside. "Try me," Krystal mocked over the radio. Fox ignored it and veered right, bringing himself right into Panther's line of fire. The Black Rose's zapper ripped off Fox's right wing, sending him into spiral.

Quickly Fox forced the stick left, bringing his ship level, a relieved smile spread across his muzzle until he looked ahead. His ship collided with the Cloudrunner ripping off its left wing sending it spiralling down to the planet's snow covered surface. "KRYSTAL!" the vulpine yelled in vain, as he too came closer to the ground. Keeping the Arwing level Fox found an open area in the tree line and braced for impact.

The Arwing II came to a rest wedged up against a tree. The left G-diffuser had been ripped off, the nose cone was bent upwards, and the canopy was cracked. Star Wolf's voices echoed out from the intercom.

_"Man, that was funny,"_ Wolf laughed as his Wolfen circled overhead.

_"Heh, no explosions,"_ Leon sounded disappointed. There was a moment of silence before Wolf spoke.

_"Panther, aren't you gonna go get Krystal?"_

_"No, it is time Panther moved on. Panther lives by one philosophy: if she doesn't put out, she gets out,"_ he said harshly.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" Fox yelled, bolting out of his cockpit into the snow. He paused, surveying the sky. Once he located the Black Rose he unholstered his blaster pistol and fired at it. Laughing could be heard from the Arwing's communicator as the three ships disappeared from sight. Fox watched them, every muscle clenched, his breathing rapid and furious as he snarled.

After a few minutes, he calmed down and let his mind kick in to survival mode. He holstered the pistol, and turned back to his ship. First, the vulpine searched the cockpit. He came up with his blaster rifle from the Aparoid invasion, a long sleeved flight jacket and tool kit. Next, he pried open the cargo hold. This proved to be easy because the ship was half laid on its side. Within the cargo hold he discovered a survival kit with enough supplies for one animal for a week, a small med kit and a bag. Quickly, Fox shoved everything in the bag, pulled the coat on and took up the rifle. He cast his gaze towards the black smoke trail rising up from the other valley. _Krystal..._ he thought. He looked towards the hills which would be the best chance for shelter, then back at the smoke. Decision time.

Sighing, he angled himself towards the smoke and started off.


	2. Tempers and Tears

The deep snow made walking very difficult for. Each boot sunk down to an unstable footing. Occasionally he would lose his balance and fall face first into the soft, cold, white blanket that surrounded him. His facial fur was damp from the snow that his body temperature had melted, bringing a sensation of sustained freezing that ran through his entire body whenever he caught a breeze.

The smoke appeared to be in the next valley, but each hill he climbed proved that theory wrong. Fox would grab hold of tree limbs, slowly hoisting himself up each steep, slick incline. Most footings were insecure, and some tree limbs where weak, sending him tumbling down either to the bottom, or straight into a tree, whichever came first. Nevertheless, Fox continued on his slow trek, bent on locating Krystal.

He almost broke down into tears, sinking to his knees when the Cloudrunner came into view. It seemed as though it had been an eternity since he abandoned his Arwing. After composing himself a little, the vulpine jumped up and started down towards the crashed ship. The closer he got, the faster he moved as the cockpit came into view. Fox noticed that it still housed the pilot.

He dropped everything and sprinted the last few metres towards the ship. He jumped up onto the wing and tried prying the canopy open with his claws, but to no avail. His heart was racing as he looked for a sign of life. She wasn't moving, and the glass was too dark to tell if she was breathing. Quickly, seemingly without thinking, Fox took a step back and swung his boot through the glass.

He screamed out in pain as the shards from the jagged opening ripped into his calf. Carefully, he pulled his leg out and reached inside, pressing the release button.

As soon as the canopy latch released Fox flung it open, wrapped his arms around the unconscious vixen's body and lifted her out.

The pain in Fox's calf caught up with him. His knee buckled sending him and Krystal down into the snow. He scurried to his knees and over to the vixen. He rolled her onto her back and checked for a pulse on her neck.

There was a streak of blue and a loud smack as Fox's head whipped to the left.

"Don't you dare touch me," she said sitting up, glaring at him.

"Sorry... I… I thought that maybe… you were…" Fox started to say.

"That I was what? Umm… dead? You wouldn't be that lucky," she snapped.

"Listen it's not…" he started.

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here; stuck in this cold, forsaken hell-hole," she stuck her nose in the air and looked away.

Fox's nerves were drawing thing, line a rope held together only by a few threads. "If it wasn't for me you'd be _dead_, stuck in that crystal on Sauria. Don't blame this on me. I'd ask you how you are, but it seems you hit your head, and unleashed your inner…" Krystal backhanded him again before he could finish.

"Keep it coming, there's more where that came from."

"Fine then. Freeze to death, I don't care." Deep, deep inside, Fox knew that he cared. But that was seemingly besides the point. "We're a thousand miles from the nearest civilization, on the coldest planet in the system. No one else knows we're here and the ones who do don't care. No one is coming for us, NO ONE!" His anger grew as he spoke. He stood up and turned away, his fists clenched. A small trail of blood originating from his leg followed him.

There was only silence as the severity of the situation sunk in.

Krystal was first to break this awkward calm. "So, we're going to die?"

"More than likely." He slowly brought himself to around and look at the vixen. She was sitting in the snow, her long delicate arms wrapped around her legs, pulling them close to her chest. Her beautiful, petite muzzle was resting on her knees as her tail twitched back and forth.

"There is a chance we'll make it though, right?" Her voice quivered as she forced back her tears.

"Well there's the catch. Panther left you for dead, and Star Wolf isn't going to report anything, so your side's out of luck. As for me though, I'm expected to be back at the Great Fox in a week. When I don't show up, ROB will contact the local search and rescue squad. The wreck's so far off-course that if they do find it, granted that the weather is good enough to use radar, it will still be another two to three weeks." Fox paused, took a breath and continued, "The only radar they have here is short-range, along with their communicators. The comm. system in my Arwing is useless; no power left. I'm pretty sure your Cloudrunner is the same way."

"It worked long enough for me to hear... to hear what Panther said." She stared off into the woods as she spoke.

"Yeah, I heard, that mother-"

"Fox it's OK. I was expecting it, just not this soon," she said, cutting him off.

"Some charmer he is," Fox retorted.

For what reason, she didn't know, but Krystal decided that she would spite Fox a little more.

"Better than you ever were." Her stare turned towards him as her eyes narrowed into a death glare.

"OK, _that's _uncalled for!" Fox yelled, outraged at her remark. "I didn't leave you to die; I tried to protect you, to keep you safe so that I had something to live for. So that _we_ had something to live for. I never intended to hurt you; you weren't supposed to leave completely, just stop flying with the team. I did what I thought was right, but you acted like I meant to upset you, like I was in love with someone else. Well I wasn't, I never could be, so just get over it. You're just as much at fault with this as I am. You thought that you were so high and mighty, that the team would fail without you. Well, you're nothing but an outcast now. I'm not responsible for our current situation, I'm…I'm..."

He looked at Krystal, and saw the hurt expression on her face, the tears streaming down her cheeks, the fear and pain in her brilliant blue eyes. That one look said it all; the look that had the power to stop Fox McCloud in his tracks. An impressive feat, considering the things that he had faced.

He had done the single thing that he swore never to even think about, let alone do.

"I'm… I'm a monster," the vulpine choked out, barely audibly. "Krystal, I'm sorry… oh no… please forgive me..." She scrambled to her feet, and started to nervously back away, shaking with sobs.

"There's a pack, and rifle back there," he said pointing in the direction of his earlier tracks. "It's got enough supplies for one week. And here's my jacket, and pistol," the vulpine said, shedding said items and tossing them at her feet. "Find shelter, start a fire, and keep warm. Take care, they'll find you soon. Good luck, and good-bye, Krys."

Fox turned and started off, unsure of where to go, but certain of what he must do. End her pain. End himself. He limped quickly across the snow, each step distancing the gap between love and pain, joy and hurt, her and him.

As he neared the edge of the woods his ears perked up at the sound of a faint cry.

"Fox, wait I… I can't do this alone. Please don't leave me..."


	3. Nostalgia

He swivelled around to face Krystal. She had his brown leather flight jacket wrapped around her delicate body and her soft blue eyes glistened with tears. Despite the pounding in his head screaming for him to turn around and help her, he turned back to face the woods.

"Fine then, just push me away, like you did before."

Krystal's words struck Fox like a blaster shot. His ears drooped and his tail fell between his legs as the guilt washed over him. He couldn't do it again. Never again. She had won; he turned and started to limp back to her side.

"OK, you got me," the vulpine said spreading his arms out as he neared the blue vixen. "Grab something, and follow me. We need to find shelter before it gets dark, which will be soon." Fox picked up the pack and rifle as Krystal scooped up the pistol. Silently they retraced Fox's path from earlier, back up into the hills where his Arwing laid.

As they passed the wreck Krystal could only imagine how hard it was for Fox to have reached her by himself. She had a lot of trouble climbing the hills, but whenever she slipped a paw would always reach back and grab her to keep her from tumbling down the snowy incline.

Krystal couldn't shake the fact from her head that Fox still cared for her. However she didn't want to accept it, she wanted him to be the bad guy for once. She had convinced herself that Fox was the enemy when she left the team, and she didn't want that to change, in fear that it was her who had been wrong. The vixen was so tangled up in her own thoughts and emotions that she ran into the back of Fox when he stopped.

"Uhh…we're here," Fox said slowly standing up and brushing the snow from his body. Krystal looked and saw that "here," was a small deep cave.

"This is our shelter?" she asked, a confused expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, the five-star hotel didn't honour my reservation. Hey, look at it this way; not only is it affordable, but the ice machine isn't broken!" Fox said sarcastically, trying to force a smile from the vixen.

"Whatever," Krystal said shaking her head as she entered the cavern.

"Wait, Krys we haven't checked in at the lobby yet!" Fox said trying to control his laughter as he followed her.

"Can it, fuzzy, I'm not in the mood," the vixen said stiffly. The smile disappeared from Fox's muzzle. "Well, now what?" Krystal said once inside the cold, dark cave.

"It's too dark to go out and hunt for food or collect fire wood. We need to conserve the food rations we've got for harder times, so do you think you could skip a meal for tonight?"

"Yeah, I guess," Krystal didn't sound too enthused. "Then what?"

"Curl up and go to sleep, it's the only left to do." Fox said as he bent down to dig through the pack.

"OK… what are you doing?" the vixen said cocking her head to side as she watched the vulpine.

"Bandaging my leg before I lose all my blood." Fox sat down, rolled up his trouser leg, opened the med kit and started to clean his wounds. He pulled out some glass shards, wiped off the blood and wrapped his calf in gauze. The vulpine put up the kit and laid down opposite the vixen, who was still standing. Following this cue, Krystal zipped up the jacket, laid down facing Fox, and draped her tail over her body the best she could, as a second cover. Fox rolled over on his side so his back was to her, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

An hour or so passed before Fox woke. His ears perked up when he heard the sound of chattering teeth. He rolled over to face Krystal, and as soon as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw her shivering. Her whole body shook with each chill; even though she was wearing the warmest clothes, she wasn't used to the cold. Fox glanced toward the opening. Pitch black. No way anyone could cut any firewood and make it back without breaking a leg and freezing to death. His glance then moved towards the pack. He had checked it earlier and knew for a fact it lacked anything to provide warmth. Growing up on Corneria and spending half of his life in space, Fox had become accustomed to the bitter cold. He slowly stood up and worked his way over to the freezing vixen.

"Fox… what the… hell… are you… doing?" Krystal stammered in between shivers. The vulpine slowly lay down behind the vixen which, needless to say, freaked her out. Severely.

"Just relax," Fox assured. After Krystal elbowed him in the crotch, he tried again. "Quit struggling, I'm not going to hurt you, just keep you warm. Unless you want to freeze to death, maybe?"

"Sorry… it's just… after being… with… Panther… you lose… trust," she said as she calmed down. "BUT… I SWEAR… IF I… SO MUCH… AS… FEEL IT… I'M CUTTING… IT OFF!"

"Deal, I suppose," Fox said as he wrapped his arm around her, placing a paw on her stomach, the way he did when they were together. He pulled her close and rested his muzzle on her neck.

Almost instantly Krystal could feel his warmth, but it was his touch that interested her the most. It brought back those memories of them together that she had sworn to forget. Memories that were once banned, but now seemed so precious. Those dark stormy nights, those lonely nights in space, those hot summer nights on Aquas' beaches, all spent together in each other's arms. She could sense that Fox was having the same inner battle with his emotions. It seemed like he had read her mind as he nuzzled her neck.

The next morning found Krystal alone, but warm. Surprisingly warm. She sat up, and glanced around the cave. "Fox?" No one answered. A quick look revealed that the warmth was coming from two sources: a roaring fire near the entrance of the cavern, and a large piece of cloth that had been wrapped around her. A smile spread across the vixen's muzzle when she realized that it was the seat cover from Fox's Arwing. She scanned the room once more, this time noticing a flat rock lying next to her. Scratched on to its surface was a note.

Krystal,  
Went hunting, will return soon.  
Stay Warm,  
Fox.


	4. Nothing Changes Love

Fox stood completely still and quiet. Only his eyes moved as he watched a bird perch in a tree. Slowly he raised the rifle up to his shoulder and started charging the shot. As soon as the barrel glowed red he brought the sights up to his eye and fixed them upon the bird. Fox clicked his teeth to get the bird to look up before releasing the shot. There was a loud squawk, a poof of feathers and mist of crimson as the bolt struck the bird.

The vulpine lowered the rifle and looked around for the bird. Nothing. Carefully and quietly, Fox crept up to the pine tree the bird had been perched in. There was nothing on the ground, or on the branch.

"What the hell?" Fox said to himself as he looked up. A few burning feathers slowly drifted downward. "Oh come on. Three hours to track it down and I've gone and blown it up. Man, I shouldn't have charged the shot." The vulpine spoke as if someone else was listening, but Krystal was back at the cave. He set off in search of another target. Like in most hunting cases, where there's one, there are more nearby.

* * *

Back at the cave, Krystal sat quietly watching the fire with the seat cover wrapped tightly around her body. Her mind was moving a mile a minute. "Fox, what is it with you? Do you want me? Do you hate me? Why did you change? Was it because of me? You yell at me one minute, then you cuddle with me the next. Everything keeps contradicting itself… I deserved it, what he said. I had it coming. I know him too well; I knew where his limits were and I pushed him past them… What else was I supposed to do? I was upset, I couldn't help it!" Krystal began to stare into nothing as she reflected upon him even more. "He did love me. He came back. He could have left me, but he came back… but now... now it seems like he couldn't care less, only doing and saying what he needs to get by… The note, that proves it."

She glanced at the stone. Back when they were together Fox would leave her notes if he had to leave early, or if she wasn't awake yet. This one seemed so foreign, like someone else had written it.

Krystal. He never wrote Krystal on his notes; it was always Krys or honey or something, never her full name. "Stay warm, Fox." The ending; that's what got her. She was so used to "Love, Fox," or something intimate, that "Stay warm," meant that she was nothing to him. The vixen let out a long aggravated moan before burying her muzzle in her arms.

How did she feel about him? Of course she _loved_ him… once before. Before all of this. Before the crash. Before the war. Before he broke her heart. But, what about now? She always told herself, 'He'll beg you to come back, you'll put up a mild-to-decent fight, then give in. Everything will go back to the way it was. You'll both be happy, everything will be grand." What about now? She loved his touch, the way it brought back those bittersweet memories from so long ago. The way she felt, being held in his arms. She convinced herself that she could love him again, if he changed. Whether or not she would admit it, she had never stopped loving him, since their eyes met on Sauria, and nothing could change it.

* * *

Fox had made it all the way back to the wrecked Cloudrunner by now. Two birds dangled freely from one of his paws while the rifle was grasped firmly by the other. The vulpine set down his gun and prey and pulled out a pocket knife, clicking it open. He carefully climbed onto the wing and lifted open the canopy before climbing down into the cockpit. Once inside, he realized that he had never flown, or even been inside Krystal's ship before. Curious as to how different it was, he swivelled around and sat down in the seat he had been ready to cannibalize. The controls were dual yoke; a joy stick on either side of the pilot, similar to the ones on the Phase II Arwings that the team flew during the Aparoid invasion. The Arwing II had a single yoke, a single stick that protruded out of the floor in front of the pilot, unlike the dual yoke the single control required foot petals to tilt the ship onto its side. Fox snapped out of his thoughts as he studied the instrument cluster. Identical to the all the Arwings, except the Saurian labels, by Krystal's request. He continued on to the communication screen on the top right of the dash. Normal, with the exception of a few pictures taped onto the sides of it. A closer look revealed that they were all of either him, or him and Krystal.

The one of them was taken at Falco's party. He was leaning back on a red leather couch with Krystal snuggled up close, her head resting on his shoulder. Krystal was looking off to the side, and he was looking down at her with pure love in his eyes. Katt had taken the picture, and Krystal must have somehow gotten a hold of it. There was also the one of them watching the sunset together on Aquas. His mind retraced that night, ah what memories! And his favourite one was there too; a photo booth reel of them hugging, and making out, just generally having a blast. It was then it dawned on him. She had kept them, even while dating Panther. There was not a single picture of that black cat to be found. Only him.

"Maybe, just maybe she still has it for me..." Fox thought. "No... Come on man, you remember last night! All you were trying to do was help her and she threatened to hack off you… uh… yeah. Hell, before that, the crap you took from her after rescuing her for... what... a third, maybe fourth time?" Fox raised a finger to his muzzle as he cast his mind back to the previous day. "I remember alright. I remember how I flipped out and hurt her. How I almost killed myself for doing it... OK, OK, but she's still got the upper hand and she ain't afraid to use it. You went straight back to her side. All she had to do was guilt trip you. Did she cut your balls off earlier? Cause you don't seem to have any anymore, that's right… no balls. She doesn't care about you all she wants is to get herself out of here, just give up. She never said thanks, or responded to anything you've done for her here. Just give up, it's ok, no blood no foul..." While in the middle of his rant, his eyes rested of the picture of the two vulpine on the sofa. Particularly, his eyes. Particularly, where they were looking. _How _they were looking. "NO! I don't care if she's just using me, I don't care. I still love her and I always will. Nothing, nothing will ever change that!"

A sharp pain brought Fox out of his inner turmoil; he looked down, realizing that he'd smashed his fist down on the top of the dashboard hard enough to dent it. He shook the thoughts out of his head and proceeded to remove the cloth from the Cloudrunner's seat.


	5. Wrong Conclusions

The sizzling and crackling of the fire brought Krystal out of her meditative state. She had been trying to focus on her true inner feelings, to forget about the hunger pains that were getting worse. She had never been a big eater, constantly watching her figure, to please Fox more than anything else, but now she felt as though she could never stop eating, given the chance. She eyed the pack, just sitting there, unattended. "There's no way Fox will ever know.. I'll just get a little something to tide myself over, no big deal." She glanced at the entrance before crawling over to the pack. With trembling hands she lifted its cover, and started searching Nothing. She dig a little deeper, still nothing.

"What the…" she leaned back, confused. Then Krystal jumped to a conclusion, which was not her norm. "He hid it. He doesn't trust me… that asshole." She closed up the pack, spotting the pistol lying next to it.

* * *

Fox let the canopy slam closed as he jumped from the Cloudrunner. He picked up the rifle and birds and headed back to the cave. There was a worn trail now, easing the difficultly of traversing the snow. Fox's mind wandered as he walked. First to their rescue, then to what the future would have in store for them. Would Krystal go back off on her own? Or could he make her stay with him? Would she _choose _to stay with him? Only time would tell, and she hadn't been giving him any clues for sure.

In what seemed like no time at all he was standing at the cavern's entrance. The vulpine let out a soft sigh and ran a paw through his headfur before entering the cave. The dull yellow glow of the fire revealed a sleeping blue vixen curled up against the far wall. Her eyes twitched slightly as he entered, but she didn't stir. Fox pulled out his knife, clicked it open and started to clean his prey. He looked up after a while, noticing that the vixen had disappeared. Before he could react, a cold piece of metal touched his temple, causing him to look up at the source. A chill ran down his spin as he looked down the barrel of his own blaster.

"Can't trust me can you, Fox? What makes you think I can trust _you_?" Krystal's voice was cool, calm and collected.

"Right... uh... maybe if I knew _why _that blaster's pointed at me..." Fox was at a loss for words. "Look, take it easy, you're panicking. Let's just sit down and talk this out."

"How do I know you're not just gonna leave me for dead? Huh? Starve me to death so the great noble pilot can live?!"

"Krystal, what the hell? What gave you that idea? You know I'd never do that to-" The gun barrel pushed his head to the side, ending his sentence. "Just calm down, okay? There's probably a simple explanation for whatever's going on. Just put it down. Please?" Fox's voice trembled as he waited for the worst. He glanced to his right, the rifle lay within arm's reach, if she would just look away… "Please don't do this, Krys. I'm sorry for whatever it is I've done. I still love you... just please put it down…"

Krystal lowered the gun, giving Fox his chance. A chance that he didn't want to seize. He grabbed the rifle, switched it to stun, shoved the barrel against her thigh and squeezed the trigger before she knew what was going on.

The vixen let out a squeak as she instantly stiffened up and fell onto her back. Fox let the rifle drop from his paws, the soft clink of it coming to rest on the cave floor echoing through the silent cavern.

"I'm sorry, Krys. I'm so sorry..." he muttered burying his muzzle in his paws. His heart was still racing from the fact that the one he loved was pointing a gun as his head and that he had just knocked her unconscious for it. After a brief period he got up and walked over to the still vixen. He pried open her right paw, releasing the pistol from its grasp. Fox examined it closely to discover it was set on kill. His heart sank. What would cause her to do such a thing? He glanced down at Krystal. Her eyes were closed and her head was laid to the side. Carefully the vulpine knelt down and ran his paw through her headfur. "What _am_ I going to do with you? I know this is hard for you, but killing each other's not gonna make it any better."

* * *

Krystal woke up violently. She tried to move her arms but found them tied together behind her. Her legs were the same, tied at the ankles. And, best of all, she was gagged. "Mmnph," was all she managed to get out as she struggled with her bindings. She looked across the cave and saw Fox holding the rifle tightly as he stood there in front of her. She knew that he wouldn't use it. He couldn't even bring himself to shoot at her Arwing, never mind shoot her.

"How you feeling, Krys?" he asked calmly, his outward peace contradicting the look of sheer terror in his eyes.

"Lmf meph go!"

"Sorry, not just yet. But I'll ungag you so you can tell me why we're at each other's throats." Carefully, he set the rifle down and slowly approached her. Two trembling paws reached behind the vixen's head and slowly undid the red bandana that silenced her. As soon as she could speak Krystal unleashed a fury of names towards Fox, in both Cerinian and Cornerian until she ran out of breath.

"Finished?" this triggered a death glare from the vixen, who was still gasping for air. "OK now, why the fuck are you pointing blasters at me?"

"YOU! You want me gone, don't you?" She was still struggling to free her arms.

"What?! Why do you think I came looking for-"

"Don't give me that," she spat, cutting him off. "You're hoarding the supplies for yourself, so once I'm gone, you can carry on for a while until you're rescued."

"So that's what this is about? The food? The fricken food?" Fox almost laughed when he realized that she was freaking out over nothing. "I think there's been a huge misunderstanding here. I hid the supplies to keep them from getting used prematurely, by both of us. You're not going to starve to death, I promise."

Her eyes softened then clouded with tears. "Fox… I didn't know... oh… I'm sorry… it's just… this is just… so… so hard…" She laid her head on his shoulder as she wept. Fox reached up and tousled her headfur in an attempt to calm her down. "It's OK, Krys. You're fine." Fox knew about the psychological effects of having to survive; slowly going mad from lack of interaction, paranoia, irritability, pessimism and the acceptance of death. Of course he assumed that Krystal would be the last to suffer from them. He carefully untied the bootlace that bound her arms together, then the one that held her feet, and lifted her onto his lap. She would have to be strong to survive, but as Fox held her he could see her future and even his looking very grim.

The rest of the day was dominated by silence. Fox cleaned and roasted the birds, cut firewood, and set up some bedding for himself and Krystal. The vixen had taken a long walk after she ate, not returning until Fox was fast asleep. Fighting against her emotions was proving to be too much, even for her. With the added stress of being stuck in a desolate wasteland with the only one she ever loved, she didn't know which way was up anymore. She laid a few logs on the fire before curling up next to the sleeping vulpine.

* * *

SchmEthan here:

OK then! That's all he got up to before he quit, so the next chapter's gonna be mine!

Just a little heads up there.

SchmEthan.


	6. Their Past Lives

SchmEthan here:

Alright, this is it! My first stab at a new chapter! Please don't kill me if it doesn't live up to your expectations lol.

Any and all reviews would be appreciated to the MAX, so get going! lol.

Remember, the last 5 were NOT mine, I'm just continuing with this.

Enjoy!

SchmEthan.

* * *

Surprisingly, Krystal woke the next morning to find Fox still sleeping soundly behind her. It was still quite dark outside, so she assumed that it was too early, even for Fox. She stood up quietly, stretched herself off and inspected the fire. There were still some embers slowly burning within the makeshift hearth, so Krystal added a few more logs, watching as stray embers were cast upwards from the rest, slowly fading from brilliant red into a dull grey. As the wood dried out over the fire, it crackled and snapped, slowly but surely rousing Fox from his sleep.

When he finally sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he noticed Krystal poking at the fire with a twig, looking rather bored.

"Morning, Krys," he managed, before a yawn crept upon him. "You're up early."

"Yeah, can't think why, though," came the reply. "No nightmares or visions or anything."

"Always a good sign." He smiled at the vixen, and was mildly surprised when she almost instantly smiled back at him.

"I haven't been up long, otherwise I would have made breakfast."

"Oh, that's fine," assured Fox, hoisting himself to his feet. "I was gonna go catch us a bird or something anyway."

"Alright."

Silence. That awkward silence. They hadn't fully recovered from the events of the past year or so, and occasionally conversation would run dry, simply in fear of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

"I'm off to catch, well, breakfast." The vulpine lifted his rifle from the floor and walked outside, disappearing from the vixen's view.

"That's it?" asked the vixen to herself, her coldness almost overpowering her. "'I'm off'? Not even a goodbye? I-"

She stopped suddenly as she saw Fox coming back again. This time, he had a packet of some sort in his left paw.

"Here," he called, throwing the packet towards the vixen, who caught it with ease. He pointed to the crackers that were now in her paws. "Just in case I don't come back for a while. See? I'd starve myself before I'd starve you." He chuckled before adding "See ya later!" He almost promised that statement. A gentle smile was firmly on his face as he swivelled round and left the cave.

"Fox..."

He turned around once more to face Krystal. "Yes, Krys?"

"Thanks." With that, she looked up into his eyes, once again losing herself in the deep green hue.

"Oh... it's... it's fine, K-Krys." Fox was trying hard to form a coherent sentence, but he was being overpowered by Krystal's alluring, aquatic eyes. He often wished that he could do nothing but gaze into those eyes of hers.

Krystal was the first to shake herself off and look away, shortly followed by Fox. "Well, I'll be off. Food's not gonna gather itself." Fox thought that he might cheer Krystal up a bit before he left. "We have a wide selection of gourmet foods available. Will the lady be having bird, more bird, or perhaps some juicy twig?"

The vixen smirked at his humour. "Very funny, Fox."

"I thank you!" he said, taking a bow. Krystal couldn't help but laugh at how silly he looked.

"Well, I've cheered you up, at least. Right, I really am going now. Bye, Krys!" He purposefully strolled out of the cave before quietly adding. "Love you."

"Hmm? You say something, Fox?" asked the vixen.

"Oh... no... nothing..."

As Fox walked off, Krystal was desperately trying to determine whether or not he had said what she had wanted him to. "Did he...? No... no, he wouldn't have..." She sighed as she busied herself by poking the fire.

-

Fox was successfully tracking down a rather large bird of some sort and it had just landed atop a tree branch. He aimed the rifle's sights at the soon-to-be breakfast and pulled the trigger.

_Krystal..._

His shot flew past the bird, causing it to squawk and fly away hurriedly.

"Damn it!" Fox yelled, before throwing the rifle to the ground. "Oh, Krystal... Why? Why are you on my mind so much?"

He already knew the answer to his question, but he couldn't quite find it within himself. He picked up the rifle again and trudged onwards, looking for some more prey. Eventually, he came across another bird, albeit smaller than the last one. Desperately trying to rid his mind of Krystal for the time being, he aimed and fired at the bird. This time, his shot was true and the bird squawked before falling to the ground like a stone. He hesitantly walked towards the carcass. Shooting large aircraft and even furs with obvious protection from gunfire was fine, but when it came to shooting an innocent, defenceless bird, he didn't feel so good about it. Still, he did what he had to do to get by. As he gingerly picked up the bird, he looked around, scanning for anything else of use. And his eyes fell upon one thing. The Cloudrunner.

-

Krystal sat in the corner of the cave, fiddling with some stones on the ground. Occasionally, she would throw one into the fire, sending up waves of heated ash, but the effect was short-lived. The vixen sighed. She wasn't one to get bored easily, but being trapped on an almost lifeless planet in a cave which provided nothing but shelter, one would eventually find a lack of entertainment. As she placed a log of wood on the ever-consuming fire, she realised that the stockpile was running out. "Suppose I'd better get some more." She scoffed a little. "It'll give me something to do at least."

She lifted the small wood-axe from the sheltered alcove within the cave. All their supplies were kept there, away from the wind and the snow. It was there that she also picked up a rather warm looking sheet from the pile. She examined it carefully, wondering where she had seen it before. And then it clicked.

"This is the seat cover from the Cloudrunner... That must have been what Fox brought back yesterday..." Of course, she was too busy pointing a blaster at Fox's head to notice then.

"Wait..." she mused. "If he had this, then he must have been _in_ the Cloudrunner..." Her eyes widened as she dropped the cover, the material landing with a dull thud that echoed around the cave. "The photos! Oh, God, he's seen the photos!"

Without thinking for a second, Krystal bolted outside, determined to find either Fox or the Cloudrunner. She followed the vulpine's most recent looking trail and didn't stop, despite having to pick herself up from the ground on many occasions. After what felt like days of non-stop running, the Cloudrunner came into view. She sprinted faster now, determined to get there before the vulpine.

There were two orange ears and a brilliant white streak protruding from the smashed canopy.

Krystal picked one of two options that she had been deliberating inside her head. She should be angry at Fox for invading her privacy, or she could try to patch things up with him using the photos as vessels of sorts. The former seemed the easier choice to Krystal, on top of the fact that the latter may prove to be useless. She stormed towards the Cloudrunner, jumped up on the wing and... stopped. What she saw inside the cockpit was the love of her life with head in paw, staring at the picture. Her jaw dropped as she automatically sensed Fox's thoughts, as if he wanted her to hear.

"_That's what I feel like now..."_

He turned around to see Krystal gaping over his shoulder. He didn't flinch, however. He simply turned back to the photo, knowing that if she was going to hit him, or worse, shoot him, it would have happened by now.

The vixen squatted down, taking a closer look at the particular photo that Fox was holding. It was the one of them both on the sofa, with Krystal snuggled close to Fox, head on his shoulder looking away from him. Fox, however, was gazing down at the vixen. His eyes were almost bursting with love and affection; Krystal could tell that much.

_That's what you feel like, eh? _she thought. _What's that supposed to mean?_

She tried to think of all the symbolism contained in the photo. One combination seemed to make sense. Krystal was snuggled up to Fox, as if depending on him, but looking away as if she didn't want it, even though she knew that she did. And Fox, well, he doesn't really have to cuddle her, but he wants it more than anything. But he's not getting anything back.

Krystal had a short conflict with herself, resulting in her cold side taking over for a bit. She immediately snatched the photo from Fox's paw, earning a surprised, shocked look from the vulpine.

"I think you'll find that's _my _photo!" she half snarled.

"I think you'll find that it's just as much mine as it is yours."

"Well... uh..." the vixen didn't know how to reply to that.

"But what were they doing in your cockpit anyway?" asked Fox. "They must have been there even when you were with Panther."

"They... they kept me going."

Fox leaned forwards on the control panel of the Cloudrunner, hoisting himself out of the cockpit and landing on the soft snow with a grunt. He offered his paw to Krystal who, despite herself, ignored his offer and jumped down herself.

"Photos or not, it still doesn't prove anything!" she insisted.

The vulpine, in spite of what Krystal was saying, smiled. "Maybe not for you, Krys."

Krystal raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

He trudged off into the snow, beckoning her with his paw.

* * *

And that was it! lol

Remember, every time you review, a fairy is born! Woo! BTW, all suggestions/comments/criticisms/demands/large fungi will be duly considered!

Ahem... Yes...

See y'all later!

SchmEthan.


	7. Little Black Book

SchmEthan here:

OK, i was feeling sentimentalish for some reason, so forgive me if its all a bit drabbley, fluffy, mushy, but i think it'll prove to be a valid plotpoint in the storyline.

Feel free to slap me about like a beeatch for this, kay? But yeah, praises are also accepted lol.

Enjoysicles!

SchmEthan.

* * *

"Fox!" she called. "Where are you going?"

Krystal knew that she wanted to go with him. Out of curiosity, she decided. But, what was she curious about?

She jogged ahead and caught up with Fox. "Where are we going?" she repeated.

"To the Arwing," he replied, the smile still on his face as if he could see right through her doubts and into the unwanted sanctuary of her mind.

"But why?"

"I have to show you something." It seemed that the photos in the Cloudrunner had helped him, because he hadn't been calmer than this since the day they crashed.

Krystal wasn't sure whether she wanted to know or not. Those pictures in her Cloudrunner; Fox knew why they were there. She knew that he knew. She knew that no matter what she tried, she still loved Fox McCloud. But did he still love her? _Unlikely. _she thought.

Said vulpine was squinting ahead through the snow, trying to make out what lay ahead of them. For the moment, they were trudging through the snow, seemingly lost in the endless white, the everlasting cold. Together. Alone. Just the two of them.

"Why were those pictures there?" asked Fox, breaking the silence that had surrounded them for a while. "Really?"

Krystal scoffed. "You'd never believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

The vixen sighed. She saw it coming. In fact, the Fox she knew hadn't changed at all, despite her initial thoughts after landing. _Probably just the stress of it all..._

"Well, if you must know, I..." She couldn't. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to tell him. Not while there was still a risk. That ever-lingering risk. "I..."

Of losing Fox again.

"I know how you feel; say the wrong thing at the wrong time and your whole world implodes right in front of you. How do you think I felt after I told you to leave?"

"So, you think asking me to leave was a mistake?" asked Krystal, clarifying his statement, despite having heard it countless times before.

"Biggest I ever made. Well, second biggest, really."

"Oh?" Krystal was genuinely surprised. "What do you regret most, then?"

Fox looked straight into her perfectly faltering eyes as he told her something he thought he never could.

"Falling in love with you in the first place."

Krystal stopped in her tracks. _Falling in love with me was a mistake?! But you didn't want me to leave? What's wrong with you, Fox?_

"What's that supposed to mean?" she inquired, her glare apparently unable to penetrate Fox's conscience.

"It was a mistake. I fell for you. Professional partners and romantic relationships? Dangerous. Especially in our line of work. I had to force you away; it was a mistake."

Krystal couldn't believe what she was hearing. _He's just saying all this stuff and acting like nothing's happening! That fucking asshole..._

"Listen, Fox." Pure vengeance lingered in her throat as she forced Fox's name from between her teeth. "What are you playing at? You're just telling me all this as if it didn't matter to you..." Despite doing everything in her power to force them back, tears of purest sorrow appeared in the back of her eyes. "That's it, isn't it? You _were_ in love with me, once. But that all went down the drain, you thought it was a mistake? Is that where you're taking me? To show me how unloved I really am?"

"No, I think you've got the wrong end of the stick, Krys. I'll explain when we get there." Fox stated calmly, while it was obvious that Krystal was far from settled.

"What makes you think I'm gonna follow you now? You're just going you brush me off again and try to get rid of me!"

Tears were streaming down her face as her voice was on the point of screaming. Fox knew it probably wouldn't help much, but he stepped forwards, his arms outstretched, in an attempt to comfort her.

She immediately withdrew. "Don't you _dare, _Fox! You just rhyme off all these things and then try to hug me? Oh, no. It's not gonna work like that."

"Krystal, as soon as you see what's in my Arwing, you'll understand. I promise."

"But I do understand, Fox. You obviously don't want me. And you're probably thinking that I'm stupid for keeping those photos in the Cloudrunner; wasting my time. Well, I am. I was stupid to ever fall in love with you. I was a fool to come with you after Sauria. I-"

"Well, that's not it at all. You've got it completely wrong." With that, he turned again and started off towards the Arwing once more. He knew that Krystal would follow him sooner or later.

The vixen just stood there. _What does he mean? _She sighed. _Well, the only way to find out is to go with him, I suppose. _She trailed behind him, far enough away that he didn't notice her.

The two ploughed on. In silence. Both completely unaware of what was about to happen.

-

When the Arwing finally came into view, Fox quickened his pace. Krystal simply walked on, forcing herself through the now much thicker snowfall. She could barely see three feet in front of her. When a battered Arwing swam into view, she felt somewhat relieved, before suddenly remembering why she was here.

Fox had already clambered inside the Arwing and had removed the now useless seat, leaving room for two people to stand, although the pair would be rather intimate.

"Come on in, Krys. Here's what I wanted to show you."

She desperately wanted to ignore him, but the storm outside was becoming more intense. She hoisted herself in the cockpit and found that she was standing with one leg on the floor and one on the wall. She was thankful for the heat that Fox was sharing with her, but at that point she wished she were as far away from the vulpine as possible. The vixen looked around and saw that Fox's dashboard contained no pictures whatsoever, unlike the Cloudrunner. Krystal was initially disgusted.

"So you actually brought me all the way out here to rub it in? Well, that's damn decent of you! There's not a photo in sight. Why the hell would you-"

Fox held up a paw and to Krystal's great surprise, she found that she actually obeyed his gesture. "I've no photos up here, yes," he began, a retaliation almost spewing from the vixen. "But, if I was captured by Andross for example, and he wanted to torture me, how would he go about doing it? Tormenting my loved ones, perhaps?"

Krystal tried to speak, but Fox had a point. If he was captured from a ship with photos galore of a female vixen, especially any photos of the two of them together, that would be the number one target for any captor.

"See?" asked Fox.

"But... but that still doesn't explain why you brought me here," she stated, in more of a commanding tone than a simple observation.

"Ah. Well," said Fox, punching a few numbers into a keypad before pulling up the storage hatch beneath the former seat, "this is what I want you to see."

He lifted the lid, pulled out a pair of scopes, some paper and finally, a leather case of some sort. In the bottom left corner, someone had hastily Tipp-Exed 'F McC & K'.

"F McC and K..." Realisation hit the vixen like a ray of light. "Is that...?"

She trailed off as Fox opened the photo album. Inside was every single photo of either Krystal or the pair of them that Fox could get his paws on. As he flicked through the album there were hundreds upon hundreds of blue and occasionally orange flashes as her eyes struggled to take it all in. Her jaw involuntarily dropped as she melted into the pure contradiction that Fox was showing to her.

"Every single photo... Every one..."

"Actually, there's still one missing." The vulpine skipped to the blank pages in the back of the album. She looked up at him and realised that he had been watching her the whole time. No, not just watching, loving.

Krystal's paw slunk down towards her pocket as she pulled out the photo that Fox was talking about. That life-changing photo of the pair on the sofa. She started to fix it to the album, but suddenly recoiled as the vulpine put his paws over hers. She calmed down once she realised and the pair proceeded to fix the photo in place. Together.

Fox slid himself down into a seated position against the back of the Arwing. Krystal wasn't sure how to react to that, but eventually, without any actions from Fox, she shifted herself into his lap again as they both wondered over the photos. Both vulpine and vixen were enjoying each other's company, and the warmth they were sharing. Not just physical warmth, but mental, emotional warmth as well.

"Hold on..." Krystal backed out of Fox's proximity as she realised that there was still one more thing. "You said it was a mistake that you ever loved me."

Fox sighed, his ears drooping slightly. "Yes, it was a mistake. A huge mistake." Krystal was almost ready to punch him. "But, it was the most brilliant mistake I ever made."

_Huh? _thought Krystal.

"I loved you then and nothing's changed now. But it's because I loved you so much that I had to force you off the team. If you got shot down, I'd never be able to live with myself. It would be entirely my fault; I let you join the team, I became your best friend, I fell in love with you." Fox sniffled a bit while Krystal was trying to make sense of Fox's confession within the passionate flurry of her mind.

"I thought I had to send you away. The very second I told you to leave the team, I kicked myself for even thinking about it. Yes, I wouldn't be able to live without you, but that's exactly what I brought upon myself. Upon us both. It was a mistake. And that one definitely wasn't brilliant."

"So, you're telling me that you still love me?" Krystal braced herself for what was coming.

"I still love you. I still care for you. I'll still kill myself for you as long as you get to live."

"No... don't say that..." Krystal breathed, between sobs. "I can't live without you; I never could. It wasn't me who joined Star Wolf, it wasn't me who ran away from you again. It wasn't me that shot at you, and it definitely wasn't me who pointed a gun at your head." She hung her head as she reasoned with herself. "I was cold. It... it was like my heart was frozen, and my true self couldn't escape."

Fox knew exactly what she meant.

"It wasn't me that yelled at you when we crashed; I was just so stressed and worried about you. Hell, we'd never have survived if it weren't for each other."

Krystal shot a quizzical look at Fox. "What do you mean? You're practically doing my share of surviving for me!"

The vulpine looked up from the photo album. "Don't you see? That's just it! If you hadn't been here, I'd have had no reason, no initiative to keep going. That was the only thing that kept me walking until I found the Cloudrunner. You were the only thing that compelled me to survive. And to keep you alive." A small tear came to his eye, before Krystal saw it freeze on his face.

"It's getting colder," she observed, sliding closer and closer to Fox. He opened his arms to her and she bathed herself in his spirit and his warmth once more.

"Well, at least you're willing to keep warm now!" joked Fox.

She shrugged slightly. "Now I know that I can trust you."

Fox nodded, before holding her waist tightly and gazing into, above and beyond her sea-green eyes, those vessels of hope, of passion, of initiative. Equally, if not more, she lost herself within his of purest emerald, soaking up the trust, the truth, the care.

The two sat in that position for what seemed only minutes before Fox realised something. "Speaking of trust, that snow's getting a bit too cocky for my liking." Krystal took the cue and stood up, allowing Fox to do the same as he grabbed the scopes. He switched it to 'weather', stuck his head out of the cockpit and took a look around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until he turned and looked behind him. "Oh, shit."

"What is it, Fox?" asked Krystal, concerned at Fox's choice of words and tone of voice.

He turned to face her. She could tell that there was raw fear inside him.

"There's a huge blizzard on the horizon. And it's heading this way."

* * *

UH OH!!!!!!! What's gonna happen with that huge blizzard thingy?!?!

Only the next chapter will tell! lol. REmember, every time you review, a fairy is born! WOO! Be it good, bad, orstupid, I'll be happy for them and you might get your next chapter sooner!!!!

So, yeah. lol.

SchmEthan.


	8. Comfort In Trust

SchmEthan here:

Wow. Wowomg. Wowomgwtfbbq. That's what I said when I saw the amount of reviews that came in such a short time after posting chapter sevun! So, it wasn't too drabblish, fluffy and mushy then?

Seriously, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!! I really didn't think I'd be able to keep up the standard of the author before me, but apparently everyone loves it, which is pretty awesome TBH.

THANK YOU to everyone who reads this, reviewers or not, because at least I know that SOMEONE likes it.

And what about those faithful reviewers? THANKS TO THE MAX to all my reviewers so far: greystripe, the Lammynator, cari la fenix, VENOMDARK (lol), Captain Fox McCloud, Enigmatic Igor, ninjafoxshadow and Randomy! Any and all reviews are appreciated and they inspire me to keep going! THANKS AGAIN!

Well, here's chapter eight!

Although, I'll probably get shot for its ending....

ANYWAY, enjoy!

SchmEthan.

* * *

"Hang on," Krystal began. "A blizzard? Didn't the climate control centre stop all the blizzards here?"

"Yeah," said Fox, shuffling back down into the crashed Arwing, "but we were nowhere near it when we crashed."

"So, we must have gone down on the _other_ side of Fichina..."

Fox looked up to the sky. "If that's the case, then we really are miles away from anywhere. We're at the mercy of the weather. And that blizzard's not gonna let us off this time."

"Well, at least..." It seemed like Krystal wasn't sure whether to continue. "At least we've got each other."

Fox turned back to face the vixen and smiled. "Just the way it should be."

The pair took the time to warm themselves up by another prolonged cuddle. "Right," Fox started, removing his flight jacket. "We need to keep you warm."

Krystal held his paws in place. "Oh no you don't. Just leave it, I'll be fine."

"Krys, I've been out in a raging blizzard on Fichina before wearing nothing but this, I promise I'll be OK." The vulpine made his puppy-dog face, knowing that Krystal couldn't resist it.

She giggled at Fox childishness and eventually gave in. "Alright, I'll take it, but you need to keep yourself warm too, mister!"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. But we need to get back to the cave before this gets any worse. Luckily, the blizzard's behind us for the moment, so I reckon we should get going soon." "Alright." The pair climbed out of the toppled Arwing, Fox now jacketless for Krystal's sake, and began the long haul back to the cave. They found it slightly easier traversing the route than last time because the wind from the oncoming blizzard was behind them, but along with the speed, the wind also brought a bone-deep chill which felt like it pierced their fur. Fox was beginning to feel the cold set in and his body shivered as proof. This shivering caused a pang of concern inside Krystal, especially since he had kept her warm in the cave when her teeth were chattering.

"Fox, you are shivering like nobody's business." The vixen began to remove the vulpine's jacket in order to give it back to him. Of course, he wasn't having any of it.

"Keep the jacket, Krystal," he insisted. "Your comfort's a bit more important than mine, let's face it."

"Oh, come on, Fox!" she pleaded. "You're gonna freeze in a minute!"

"And so are you if I take that jacket!"

"You kept me warm, now I'm returning the favour. OK?"

Realising that they were getting nowhere, Fox sighed and reluctantly agreed to accept the jacket. He put it on and the pair continued.

Of course, not long after she had given up the jacket, Krystal began to feel the cold nip at her through her cerulean fur. And, of course, when she began to shiver, it did not go unnoticed by Fox.

"What did I tell you?" he half scolded, although his tone was far from anger.

"I suppose you were right," the vixen admitted. "But what are we going to do? If you give the jacket back to me, it'll just turn into a vicious circle!"

Fox stopped to think for a moment before a toothy grin crept across his muzzle. "How about a piggyback? That way, we both keep warm." He raised his eyebrows slightly to accompany his scheme.

Krystal allowed her jaw to hang open in mock surprise before waves of giggles overcame her being. "Are you sure you can carry me through all that snow?"

Fox placed his paws on his hips and mimicked Krystal's earlier gesture of faux shock. "Have you lifted one of those homing launchers recently? No, rephrase that: have you lifted one of those homing launchers through a freak blizzard on Fichina during a war against some machines recently?"

Krystal laughed at the description. "Point taken. Alright then, Mr. Muscles, let's try this out!"

Fox took the cue, spun around and squatted slightly, opening his arms to allow Krystal's legs to slide in beside him.

As soon as the vulpine was ready, Krystal ran towards him, placed her paws on his shoulders and gracefully straddled her legs either side of him, wrapping her arms around his neck in the process. As soon as he had caught her, Fox wrapped his muscular arms around her well-formed legs in order to carry her more easily and used his tail to support the rest of her. It wasn't the first time that he had given Krystal a piggyback; that much was obvious from the smooth execution of the move. The vulpine used to carry the vixen in this way when they had a solid relationship going all those years ago. Well, it had only been two years, but it felt like forever to Fox. The piggyback brought back memories of their time together, this time uninhibited by any false hatred or hard feelings against the other.

Krystal broke the silence that had subconsciously enveloped them. "Just like you used to do, eh, Fox?"

"Oh, yeah! Good times, Krys, good times." He gave happy sigh at the nostalgic images that had filled his head to the brim. "Warming up now?"

"Yep," replied Krystal, popping the 'p'. "You're as hot as ever!"

Fox couldn't help but laugh at the double meaning. When he had finished, he trudged forward again, finding it difficult at first, but growing used to the strain as he ploughed through the snow.

"Wow," chimed the vixen, sounding stunned. "That's good going there!" She squinted ahead and then took a look at the snow around them. "I think the snow's getting deeper, though." She reached one of her paws up to stroke Fox's chin. "Sure you're doing OK down there?"

The vulpine, contented with Krystal's contact, smiled. "Don't you worry, Krystal, I'm fine. And as long as we can get back to the cave, we'll both be fine."

The two vulpine made small talk for the rest of the journey. It was the first real conversation they had shared since the day they landed. Their true feelings for each other were out in the open and they could finally speak without fear of the other turning away or lashing out. Even with the freezing snow and howling winds around them, Fox felt more comfortable than he had in a long time, thanks to the vixen riding on his back. Krystal shared the mutual feeling; the photos in her Cloudrunner caused her nothing but pain when she was around Panther. For now, there was no mistrust, no grudges, no hard feelings and no hatred between the two vulpine, only pure, untainted love and care. And hope; there was plenty of renewed hope for surviving.

When the pair reached the cave, Krystal hopped off Fox's back to allow him to lift a large pile of firewood onto the hearth. They both immediately felt the cold sink in without the body heat of their partner, but Krystal grabbed the seat covers-turned-blankets while Fox lit the fire, the warmth returning to them not long after. The pair sat on the cave floor, watching the winds pick up outside while they were safe for the moment inside the windproof cave, with blankets draped over their shoulders. Krystal rested her head on Fox's shoulder while he rested his head on hers. They sat like that for a good while, longer than either of them could keep track of, soaking up the warmth, the caring, the love and, most importantly, the trust. The very thing that had made their struggle for survival harder than it could have been when it was strewn into pieces at the time of the crash. Now, completely fixed and healed, they could trust each other with their lives, if not more. And it was that trust which would be the rope holding the pair together; strong enough, and they could support each other with ease, but even one little flaw and they'd lose all that they had gained in their time on Fichina.

The ears of both Fox and Krystal perked up as they heard the unmistakable sounds of laser fire coming from above. They looked at each other in disbelief before discarding the blankets and rushing outside to try and locate the source of their possible salvation. When they realised that it was coming from behind the mountain, the pair sprinted around the cliff side, all the while switching their focus from the ground to the sky, trying to ignore the winds around them. When they finally found the aircraft, they were on the opposite side of the mountain from the location of their cave. What they saw was three Wolfens chasing what resembled a large-ish Venomian fighter.

"I'll bet my tail that Oikonny's in that ship," Fox suggested.

"But why would Star Wolf want to shoot him down?" asked Krystal.

Fox didn't answer the vixen immediately; he was focusing on what she said. _She called them Star Wolf... she really wants nothing to do with them..._

Fox returned to his senses. "Maybe he tried to start another war. Peppy might have hired that lot to get rid of him."

"Makes sense I suppose," replied Krystal. An explosion from Oikonny's ship set alarm bells ringing in Krystal's head.

"He's lost control, Fox," she informed him, sounding worried. "He's going down."

True to Krystal's word, Oikonny's ship began to waver in its course before another few shots from one of the Wolfens took off one of the wings, sending it spiralling down to Fichina.

"Run, Fox!" yelled Krystal, pulling the vulpine away by his paw. The pair sprinted free of any danger, but the force from the crash of the ship threw them face-first into the snow. Krystal kept Fox flush against the ground as boulders, rocks and occasionally drifts of snow fell from the top of the mountain. When the boulders had stopped falling, Fox lifted his head from the snow and shook it off. "Wow. That was some crash," said Fox, pushing himself and pulling Krystal up off the ground.

Krystal's natural kindness compelled her to check the fair-sized ship for any and all survivors, and so she bolted, followed by Fox, towards the sight of the crash. The ship had rammed straight into the side of the mountain, explaining the plummeting debris. As the vixen searched the craft, both physically and mentally, Fox clambered over the wreckage to inspect the damage to the mountain.

His gaze turned cold and his muscles tensed when he realised what the collision had done. The vulpine could see the remains of their fire, now extinguished by the winds, as well as their belongings and anything else they kept in their cave. Except it wasn't a cave now; the ship had caused the back wall to collapse. Leaving a clean hole through the mountain. There were no other ground-level caves big enough for the the two vulpine and possibly a few more people, if there were any survivors on that ship. A shrill wind blowing through the former cave's opening stabbed Fox like an icy dagger, confirming his suspicions.

Their shelter was gone.

* * *

Alright, you can all shoot me now lol.

But really, it's just a little plot advancer. They _have _got another week or two to kill (according to previous author's authorings), so yeah. There might not be any survivors on that ship, the point is their shelter's gone.

Unless...

If you guys maybe _want _Oikonny to join Fox and Krystal on Fichina, then gimme a shout and if I get more than 5 votes for him, he can stay. Wasn't intenting for that to happen, but if it'll make it more interesting for you, then I'll do it! Lol.

Reviews make happy faries! (Except Navi, Pasta Masta crushed her by accident. Oh well.)

ANYWAY, thanks again for reading!

SchmEthan.


	9. Love Changes Nothing

SchmEthan here:

Again, thanks for the continuing support and reviews from everyone! You're all awesomeness!

Aaaaand about Oikonny- he has been out-voted. Oh dear. Sorry to all those who wanted him, but he ain't coming back.

ANYWHOO, all that's left to say is...

Enjoy!

SchmEthan.

* * *

Fox's attention was shifted to the sky when he heard a rocket-blast behind him. Krystal heard the familiar sound as well and realised that she need not search any longer. The vulpine held his paw up to his brow as he made out the vague silhouette of an escape pod blasting into the distance. He turned to face Krystal, her eyes shut in concentration.

"It _was_ Oikonny," she informed him. "But he's fine; that escape ship got away unscathed."

"Well, now that Andy's out of the picture, it's time to start worrying about us."

Krystal looked truly bemused. "Why's that?"

"Because," he began, gesturing to the wreckage behind him, "that ship crashed into the side of the mountain and turned our cave into a wind tunnel."

Krystal wasted no time in frantically searching the cave for even the slightest bit of evidence to prove Fox wrong, but she couldn't find any. Their shelter really was gone.

"So," asked Krystal, flinging her arms by her sides in defeat, "what do we do now?"

"I haven't seen any other caves we could use around here, or any other form of shelter for that matter, so I'm afraid I'll be asking the same question."

With nothing left to do, Krystal sighed and slid to the ground beside the wreckage, soaking up the heat that it was giving off, knowing that it wasn't going to last. Fox did the same, draping an arm around Krystal's shoulder in the process.

"We could stay here for a while while this thing's still burning, but after that, we're gonna be frozen if we don't find somewhere out of the wind."

"Well, how about the Cloudrunner?" suggested the vixen. "Still in one piece... well... two or three," she admitted, earning a chuckle from the vulpine, "but it's worth a shot, I think."

Fox deliberated their chances with the Cloudrunner, envisioning it clearly in his mind. "The wings are quite wide; we could probably camp out under there if we tilted it a bit." After the full extent of the situation hit him, the vulpine took one look at Krystal before softly groaning in despair.

Krystal turned to face Fox and his saddened demeanour. "Oh, what's the matter, Fox?" she asked, placing an arm around his waist.

Fox met her gaze, instantly feeling a fraction of the weight being shifted off his shoulders. "It's just... I..." he let out a yielding sigh. "I've been able to keep you safe so far, despite the ups and downs." He looked into her eyes with a desperate urge to protect her. To be able to see those eyes again. "But now... now that the cave's no good, we're stuck unless we get to the Cloudrunner. And even then we're assuming we can shift it and actually use it as shelter." He looked back up at the sky. "It's already getting dark. If we can't use the Cloudrunner, the chances that we're gonna get through this are close to none. And it's my fault." He tried to force back the lump of dread caught in his throat. "It's all my fault."

Feeling his inner pain and want, Krystal reached out pulled Fox closer. "How can it possibly be your fault?" she asked him, attempting to comfort him with her smile. "We're here, now, alive and well. You've got us this far; I'm sure that we'll be able to pull this off, no matter what it takes!"

Realising that Krystal was only trying to comfort him, he allowed a smile to form on his muzzle. "You really thing we can do this?"

"Fox, you've saved Lylat so many times now that I've lost count!" She tightened her grip on his side, knowing that her mere presence meant so much to him. "You've beaten the Aparoids, the Anglars _and _Andross, twice! Surely you can handle being stuck on Fichina for a week," she joked.

"You know what?" he said, feeling a bit of Krystal-hugging coming on. "As long as I'm stuck with you, Krys," he began, rubbing her shoulder affectionately, "I could handle Fichina forever. Well, I think a week's enough, but you get my point."

After the pair shared a good laugh between them, Fox, with another look at the sky, decided that it was getting dark. "Right," he began, unknowingly taking on a leader-like tone, "there's not gonna be much more light today, so if we're going anywhere, we should probably go now." He stood up and, not forgetting his courtesy, offered his paw to Krystal and pulled her to her hind paws.

"OK, let's get our stuff and go!" she said, trotting off to collect her belongings. Fox followed her, making sure she didn't fall or hurt herself on the massive pile of rubble that was once the cave. After the vixen picked up the former seat covers and Fox's backpack, leaving the rifle, the pistol and the food for the vulpine, she gave him one of the blankets and the pair set out towards the crashed Cloudrunner.

As they trudged through the snow, Krystal started to feel the cold nipping at her once again. However, since they had the blankets this time, she just draped one over her shoulders and said nothing. She knew that Fox would only make a fuss if she said anything, so she rubbed her arms beneath the blanket to try and generate a bit of heat.

"Do you think the Cloudrunner will be able to give us enough shelter?" asked Krystal, a slight shiver in her voice.

"Well," mused Fox, "maybe if we can get onto its side it'll give us a bit of a break from the snow. You can thank Slippy for giving you those huge wings! But we'll only be covered from one side. It's gonna be pretty cold."

"I suppose it'll have to do for tonight. But we can look for another place to camp in the morning."

Fox noticed that Krystal's legs were struggling to support the rest of her. They were quivering and she had started to fall behind as a result. Without stopping to tell her, Fox lifted Krystal's legs from under her and supported her back in his free arm, before walking on as normal. Of course, after she registered what had happened, Krystal initially protested.

"Fox, please don't worry about me," she begged, smiling at him in spite of it, "I know I'm a bit cold but you should really-"

Had Fox's hand been free, he would have placed a finger to her lips in order to prevent her from saying what she didn't want to say. However, since this was not the case, his only free implement was his muzzle.

Fox McCloud leaned forward and stole Krystal's muzzle for what was meant to be a little peck on the muzzle, but quickly and intensely turned into a heart-pounding kiss. That very same heart beat its way straight into his mouth, subsequently pouring it, along with its associated love and cherishment, into Krystal who, thanks to her telepathy, felt every emotion of both hers and Fox's amplified through a feedback loop of infinite intensification. Fox, despite his lack of an extra sense, could have sworn that he heard Krystal inside his head, repeating his name.

Vulpine have many needs, and one of them happens to be air. When the pair finally broke apart, all that remained of their kiss, aside from the memories to be remembered for years to come, were smiles on their faces and content in their eyes.

It didn't last long enough for either of them, but they were both glad it happened. Fox didn't even realise that he was kissing her, and Krystal barely registered his muzzle on top of hers, but they felt the emotional effects like a monsoon of warmth and sheer happiness. It felt nice to taste what they had both missed so much in the other's absence; it had been almost two years since they'd enjoyed such an experience. Memories of what were, and what still could be, forced themselves to the front of both Fox's and Krystal's conscious thought, screaming for freedom, to be shared and remembered.

After the short kiss, which needless to say took Krystal and even Fox by surprise, neither of the two vulpine seemed to be able to form any words at all. That was the first kiss they had shared since the vixen was forced off team Star Fox. And they both loved it. There was a gap, filled by the happiness between the pair, before Fox, despite himself, continued on as if nothing happened. "Or I could carry you, warming you up in the process, and we'd both be happy."

"Or that," giggled Krystal. "Just... don't drop me, OK?" she joked.

Fox chuckled at that. "I won't."

The remainder of the journey was filled with nostalgic thoughts and memories, shared between the two vulpine. Krystal was actually getting quite comfortable in Fox's arms and a yawn from her petite muzzle became not uncommon. Fox didn't seem to show any signs of tiring, not just because of his excellent physical fitness, but that urge, despite its previously veiling darkness being removed by their historic kiss, to keep Krystal safe for as long as he was able. Not to mention the effects of the adrenaline from the contact.

Neither vulpine nor vixen seemed to notice the impending night as Solar's setting glow tinted the snow a rich orange colour, very like the shade of Fox's fur. Eventually, Fox spotted the Cloudrunner and allowed Krystal to stand on her own two hind paws, only to grab her by the paw and sprint towards the ruined aircraft. Fox discarded his seat cover and backpack to scurry around the Cloudrunner and assess how they could turn it into a shelter.

"Well," Krystal started, reading his mind, "if we bury the nose further into the snow and bank snow up against the extra spaces, that's a decent sized windbreak."

Fox beamed at Krystal. "And _that's _why I love you."

The pair set to work. Krystal found a suitably shaped stone and began digging a new resting place for the Cloudrunner's nose while Fox got behind the craft, inching it into their design. When the ship was finally in place, the pair patted the snow up against the sides of the craft, and also in any ergonomic holes in the craft, eliminating any drafts during the night. When their arduous task was complete, they took a few steps back and admired their handiwork, eating a quick meal of crackers to replenish their hunger. The completed shelter was thoroughly protected from one side- fortunately the wind was blowing towards the makeshift shield- and slightly less efficient on its two flanking sides. Since they had blocked up any and all breaches in their windbreak, unless the winds were really strong, they should be fairly protected from the snow. They hadn't forgotten about the impending blizzard, but Fox's scopes estimated that it would take a day or two to reach them; early afternoon the next day at the earliest.

Krystal opened one of the blankets and lay it down flat inside their new shelter; they couldn't sleep in the snow for fear of contracting hypothermia during the night. Fox was about to do the same, when Krystal placed a paw over his. He looked up and met her gaze; it seemed as if her eyes were different every time he looked at them; different thoughts, memories, dreams, emotions, all swirling around in Technicolor shades of green and blue.

"Instead of using both blankets to sleep on," she instigated, rubbing her thumb over his paw, "why don't we just sleep on one and under the other?"

"Well," Fox thought and assessed the suggestion, missing the point by a mile. "They're not very big, so we'd be-" And then he realised.

"Oh," was all he could muster.

"Mm hmm!" Krystal confirmed, slipping down to lie on her side, leaving room for a certain vulpine behind her.

"Can't argue with that." Not only was the prospect of a blanket for both vulpine pleasing for Fox, the fact that Krystal was actually willing to sleep in such close proximity to him made that vulpine smile. He positioned himself behind her, placing his muzzle in the crook of her neck and wrapping an arm around her waist as she draped her tail over his legs. They had slept in a similar position in their first night on Fichina, but now that their hearts had been almost thoroughly thawed, they were both so comfortable that Fox's eyes began to shut against his will while Krystal succumbed to the similar sensation, their combined warmth more than enough to combat the sub zero temperatures of Fichina's harsh nights.

"Love you, Krys," breathed Fox, his breath tickling said vixen's ear.

"Love you too, Fox," she replied, her voice soothing Fox like nothing else could.

And so, Fox and Krystal slept very peacefully indeed, warm and happy in each other's company, their makeshift windbreak holding back the cold. They dreamt the most wonderful dreams of prosperity and hope and love and happiness, laced with radiant crimson and dazzling cerulean.

They dreamt of the future, of what they could become, of what they would become. Secretly, they had been dreaming about such things even as they were apart, but now they could have these dreams without any painful obstacles of separation to cloud their wonder.

They were in love, too much to ever let go. And that love, of course, would be their greatest downfall.

* * *

Aww! I thought I'd give the twists a little rest and actually do something good to end the chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it!

I'd like to point out that the description of the kiss (ooh!) is actually taken from my songfic Missing You because I was too tired to write a better one. I thought I did it brilliantly (and modestly, for that matter lol) so, there it is. Lol.

I also realised that we haven't actually seen them eat! (Or go to the toilet, but that doesn't seem very interesting.) ... (Oh, by the way, did you know that in Neighbours, nobody's ever been to the toilet? That's a fact, my good readers!) So I threw in some crackers. Yay!

So yeah, that's all for now! Thanks for reading, and ta ra!

SchmEthan.

Update of the major variety: A. it's not over- i've changed the last bit just in case. and B. I'm getting to that! Randomy and Assassin-CLT in particular!!!


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